How about
:
- Meeting in Central Park and going for a walk. It's a great opportunity to talk, doesn't require anyone to be in great shape (walking is easy), and you have Central Park at your disposal, why not take advantage of it. My SO and I often suggest hikes to our friends. The walk can be as long or as short as you want. Of course, at some point it will get to cold or wet to do this, but it could be an option at least part of the year.
- Meeting for pedicures. I do this with my friends once a month (of course, we also go out to dinner afterwards, but that's because we need more time and it's only once a month). It's also a great opportunity to talk. Usually they take 30 min to an hour, so they aren't too time consuming.
- Any friends you could go shopping with? You could catch up with a friend and knock out some holiday shopping at the same time.
It's also worth scouting out restaurants where you can stay on plan. If I have a choice over where we eat dinner, I'll suggest a place where I can get something that fits in my calorie plan. If I can find places in the suburbs, there must be places in NY.
When you go out for drinks, you don't have to have a drink. Have a diet soda or sparkling water. If anyone questions it, say you have to get up early, you are fighting off a cold, or you want to go the gym later--there's lots of excuses not to drink.
I also think meeting for coffee or tea is a great option. I put skim milk (why don't any coffee places stock fat free half and half
) and sugar-free syrup in mine (almost every coffee shop has sugar free vanilla syrup, if nothing else) and it is a nice, low-calorie beverage.